Panda Hero
by Toybox13
Summary: When Ichigo Kurosaki's family is killed by Soskue Aizen, the ruthless CEO of the Las Noches drug company, he sweares revenge and becomes our amoral black-and-white hero in a post apocalyptic karakura town.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! Before I start my story I would like to thank you for reading and would love for you to leave any coments about it if you enjoyed it or some constructive critcism if you have any.**

**This story is based on the vocaloid song panda hero and uses the characters from bleach. Though this is not my first fanficition, it is the first one I am officially posting on my page.**

**My first important announcement: THIS IS A YAOI! So if you aren't into it, do not read! If you are good for you.**

**Announcement #2: This is rated M for cursing, violence, and lemon. Lots and lots of it(Just kidding. I'm only going to write as much as possible before I decide to call it a day. But there will still be lemon). So no one under the age of sixteen can read. (Yeah right. You naughty kids will just kindly skip over my "suggestion")**

**Announcement #3: Enjoy! This fanfiction was born from the depths of my somewhat warped imagination for this purpose only. So read it until you can quote it!**

**Announcement #4: To prevent any confusion, I suggest that you watch the video for Panda Hero first. It will explain a couple things in the story that you might not understand.**

**Announcement #5: Bold is for shiro,**_**italics are for thought,**_** and these ' ' are only used when Ichigo is speaking to Shiro. He's not speaking outloud they're just so you know that those thoughts are directed at Shiro.**

Summary: When Ichigo Kurosaki's family is killed by the Soskue Aizen, The ruthless CEO of the Las Noches drug company, he swears revenge and becomes our amoral black-and-white hero in a post apocalyptic Karakura town. Where the poor live and the rich look down on from the inner city of Hueco Mundo. Sporting his trusty metal bat Zangetsu and some unwanted help from his friends he just might make it. But when Coyote Starrk, one of Aizen's personal body guards with a similar past enters his life he must choose between having his revenge and keeping the one he loves most. kinda hard to do when you're a wanted fugitive on both sides in more ways than one.

**Panda Hero**

In the year 2024 the world had gone to ruin. Wars have destoryed our once beautiful world turning it from its usual luscious green and blue hues to a dank dusty brown color. Times were hard and money and jobs were scarce. Millions of people were homeless, left to face the cruel, unpredictable, poluted waste lands that were once beautiful fields and thriving towns. Many people got togther and formed large colonies that took shelter in the abandon cities that were destoryed by bommings and other horrible means. And from that the cities were reborn by the hard work of the people to make them bigger, better, and stronger. To evolve into sonething more advanced and productive. One city, however grew to become a focal point for the new world. That was the city of Heuco Mundo. Built by the rich for the rich. It grew as if over night. Tall glass and metal buliding growing from the ground like silver beacons. The most prominent boulding was a large plain white tower that stood in the center of Heuco Mundo, the only thing distingushing it was the two letters L and N brought togther in a circle by the upper corner of the west side. It was the Las Noches drug company owned, founded, and opperated by mutli-billionare Soskue Aizen, the richest man in the world. His business provided money, medicine, and an identity Heuco Mundo. Over the corse of a year people began to flock there with hopes that they could start over and build a better life for them and their families. But sadily most could not aford to live in such a rich area. They were casted out to the slums around Heuco Mundo now known as Karakura town. The people settled there and began to create their own city from the rusted metals of abandoned parts and slowly but surely they started to thrive. But that was twenty years ago. And this is now.

**Chapter 1**

Karakura town was divided into four parts. The north end, the south end, the east end, and the west end. In the west end there is a small metal tower that looked out over the city far from where the people in the west end lived. From up there you could see the piles of the now obsolete forms of old cars covered with rust and the large metal pipes that stuck out of the ground releasing small plumes of heated smoke, the squashed forms of the metal shacks that passed for houses here on one side and the baren deasert around the town on the other. Sitting high up in the tower under the glare of the sun was a young man at least seventeen years old, his boot clad feet proped up on the bent iron rail that circled the top half of the towers security fence. He wore faded dark green army pants and a large jacket with a fur lined hood of a similar light greenish color. The hood was up protecting him from the glaring rays of the sun but you could still see the spiky orange hair concealed underneath. His handsom tanned face bore a deep scoul as he glared up at the sun then at the base of the tower. Chocolate brown eyes with dark purplish black rings around them, probaly from lack of sleep scanned the area with a disdain look before closing in fustration. Next to him an old FM raido blasted out static and incoherent lyrics to some old trashy pop song. A neon bunny girl that no longer blinked in it's colorful aray of lights was proped up on the pole right above fiddled with the gas mask around his neck before letting out a fustrated groan. "How hard is it to find this goddamned tower!? It's the only thing this tall this far out!" Ichigo, through with waiting for anyone with a job for him to show up shut of the radio and stuffed it into his knapsack before throwing it over his shoulder. In his left hand he held a metal bat with the word 'Zangetsu' written on it in big black letters along it's length. He put it through a loop on the side of his bag so he could carefully decend down the rungs of the worn metal ladder welded to the side of the tower.

His boots hit the ground with a thud kicking up a small cloud of dust._They know how to find me when they need me. _With that the orangett started off straight ahead with the intention of going by Urahara's shop for some suplies. _I wonder if hat 'n' clogs finished making those smoke grenades I asked for?_ '**Looks like someone's mad about not getting a job today.'** Ichigo sighed. 'I'm not upset just a little tired from staying up half the night.' Shiro shickered when I nearly tripped over a low lying power cable. **'Whatever Panda-chan. By the way, ya got some trouble coming up around the next corner.' **I seethed at the embarrassing nick name before coming to a halt by the corner Shiro mentioned. Lined up across the path I was taking were five guys, each wearing all black bandanas across their foreheads with white skulls on them. Each one of them shot me a dirty look before advancing towards me. _Not them again._ They were from a gang that I broke up six months ago due to a clients comlaint about their business. If I remember correctly they were called the skulls and that they delt delt drugs, opium I think. Behind me there was a sound like boots stepping on broken glass and I knew that I was surrounded. Taking a quick look around, I see that there are ten in all standing in a tight knit circle around me. Some pulled out weapons like knives, pipes, and chains while some were empty handed. One of the bigger thugs stepped forward brandishing a deadly looking coil of chain wrapped in barbed wire still covered in blood from it's latest unlucky victim. "Hey Panda." he jeers menacingly. "Where do you think you're going?" I don't answer just glare at him. "That was a pretty ballsy move. Coming in to our territory and destorying our base. Most of my men are too scared to rejoin for fear that they will run into you again. So I'm here to return the favor." His underlings laugh and yell as if on drugs. They probably are high on their own supply. "Any last words before we splatter you brains all over the ground?" I sighed and reached up with my left hand to grab Zangetsu. "Don't do this. I'm kinda in a bad mood and I don't want to take it out on you." He gives me a deep throaty laugh then sneers at me.

"The first person to bring him to me gets a reward." That was all the encouragement his drones needed before running at me with weapons and fist raised to do some damage. _Idiots. I tried to warn them. _One of the bolder thugs swings a rusted pipe at me and I duck then knee him and the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He falls to the ground with a grunt as more move in to take his place. They all thought that they could take me down by overwhelming me with their numbers. But they were dead wrong. Time and time again guys like them ganged up on me because the had a problem with my looks and how I did things so I was used to fighting against large numbers. Within minutes everyone except the boss was on the ground either unconcious or groaning in pain.

And all without using Zangetsu. I turn to the boss with a droll look. "Is that it or do you want to join them?" He glares at me then smiles. From behind one of the guys that I had previously beat up grabbed me and pinned my arms to my sides. "Shit!" I cursed and started to struggle. A blow to the side of my face quiets me and stops my struggling. The boss smiles at me and pulls out a small knife holding it dangerously close to my face. "Hold up his head." The guy behind me does so by pulling down my hood and grabing a handfull of my hair to force my gaze upwards. "You know what they say Panda." The knife stops dangerously close over my right eye. "An eye for an eye" He pulls hand back, poised to slam down into my face. "A tooth for a tooth!" I wasn't in the mood to lose an eye so I did something I rarely did in fights. I kicked out with all my strength and kicked him right in his nether regions. It worked like a charm, making him drop the knife and fall to his knees to cup his injured manhood. His underling loosens his hold and I take this as an oppertuinity to teach him a lesson. Using his own weight against him, I throw him over my shoulder and with a quick twist dislocated his shoulder with a satisfying 'pop'. He lets out a small pain filled cry before running away with his arm hanging limply by his side. Now for the boss. I pull Zangetsu from my back and swing right at his head. The hit connects and he falls to the ground out cold a dark bruise already showing up on his temple where I struck him. _A few days with a crippling headache should teach him not to mess with me._

I continue on my way to Urahara's shop when a petite girl with raven colored hair cut into a shoulder length bob ran up to me and slapped me on the back. "Hey Ichigo! You made short work of those thugs that tried to jump you but that is expected of our panda hero." She ignored my glare at the nickname she knew I hated. "Rukia! For the last time quit calling me that!" Rukia only laughed as she fell in stride with me. How did I know that she knew I hated that nickname? Simple, she's the one who gave me that stupid nickname. Me and Rukia had know each other for about a year and over that time we grew to become best friends. I forgot how long ago it was, bout one day she comented about the rings around my eyes. "With those rings around your eyes they make you look like a panda." And with that statement she christened me the panda hero. The name spread like the flu and before I knew it I had become known as the panda hero all over Karakura town. "Where you headed Ichigo?" "To hat 'n' clogs place to pick up a few things. Then I'm going home." "Great. I was just on my way there to get a new sketch pad." I smirk at that. Rukia was know in our small circle of frieds for beind terrible at drawing. "Then why are you way out here?" She shrugs and adjust the whip at her side. "I thought you might need some help on a job. But you obviously didn't get one."

"Meh! It doesn't matter. I didn't really need any money I have enough saved to last me for a couple of months." After a few more turns through a maze like passage way of rusted scrap metal and old hollowed out buildings we get to Urahara's shop. It was the only shop that I ever went to because I could trust the owner. Sort of. And he's the one who helped me after the incident a year ago with my family. Outside we were greeted by a smal girl with her shoulder length black hair tied into two pigtails with two strands hanging down inbetween her eyes like two antena. She stopped sweeping the front poarch when she saw us and ran inside to tell hat'n' clogs that we were here. We step through the wood framed door and was met by hat 'n' clogs himself who stood in the middle of his small shop in his usual garb. Green striped hat, fan, cane and all. "Ichigo! Rukia!" he called out happily. "Youre just in time! Ururu, go get Ichigo's order from the back." The pigtailed girl nodded silently and ran behind a doorway behind the counter covered by a red curtain. "And for you Rukia." He pulls a book out of his sleave and I groan while Rukia squeals. It had chappy the bunny on the cover. "Don't tell me that that's the sketch book you wanted?" I asked. "Yes it is." she states before putting it in her bag. Thank you Urahara. It's just what I wanted." Rukia is addicted to rabits or somthing. I sware she acts just like a little girl when it comes to all things chappy the bunny related. What made it worse was that she knew I hated him to and she constantly rubbed it in my face. _Where were my smoke grenades so that I can leave this place. _At last Ururu came back carrying my things in her skirt. "For you Ichigo. Your grenades, flares, and medecine." I thanked him and loaded my things into my bag before leaving. "Wait Ichigo! Lookie here." Hat 'n' clogs was smiling so it had to be something bad. I eyed him suspiciously as he handed me a piece of folded paper. My eyes widened when I saw what was on it. "What is it Ichigo? She stands on her tiptoes to look over my arm. As it turns out it was a wanted poster with my picture and name on it.

The reward was pretty big. Ten thousand dollars* is a lot to most people. "How does it feel to be a wanted man, Ichigo?" asked hat n'n clogs, the smile evident in his voice. "Where did you get this?" I asked. "Youruichi found it the other day when she was on one of her jobs." "I guess that explains why those guys were ganging up on me." I muse. I refold the wanted ad and put it in my pocket. "See you later Hat 'n' clogs. I'll see you later." Rukia says good-bye too and follows after me. '**Hey king!' **"I told you not to call me that.' **'Then would you prefer Strawberry or Panda?' **'Neither!' **'Then king it is. Who do ya' think is after ya'? There's no other reason for that wanted poster of ya' than that.' **'Don't know don't care. No one can beat me anyway. Besides I'm not gonna rest untill I get my revenge on him.' **'Tch! Whatever. Talk to me when you're about to make that plan happen. Cause right now as it stands, ya' ain't anwhere near getting you're revenge.' **With that in mind I make my way home, noticing that Rukia wasn't with me. "Ichigo!" I look around startled as I heard Rukia call my name. She was standing on top of an old power line googles on and dress flapping in the wind. "Why the hell are you up there!? Are you trying to kill you're self!?" How she climbs up those high places so quickly gets me every time. "It looks like there's a storm coming." _A storm? _"Which direction? And how long do you think until it hits?" Storms were a big deal in Karakura town. Cause when it rained it poured. Rain came down like hale here and was often acidic due to the chemicals the water binds with when it falls to earth. It usually depends on what color the water was. Clear and any color blue was alright reds and purples were deadly and most people usually stayed indoors. "About ten minutes maybe." "We should be going home then." Rukia jumps down and lands next to me. Her eyes shone mischeviously behind her yellow gogles. "Aw! But I was looking forward to helping you with you're little lonely problem."

"I'm fine on my own Rukia. I don't need a girlfriend." I growl. "What about-" "Or a boyfriend!" Rukia also has some sick fasination with controling my love life. Besides having a few friends I prefer being alone. I have no need for someone like that weighing me down. "Just go home Rukia. We can talk about this another time." She gives me a sly smile. "Sure thing Ichigo." And with that she runs off home to beat the storm. Something told me that I was not going to like it the next time I saw her. The sound of thunder rips through the air, so I turn heel and run in the direction of my own home. It was easy to spot from where I was now. Hanging by the door was a long faded dartboard stuck with kneedles and a yellow glove that was glued ther on accident when I tried to fix the roof. The sight brought a smile to my face as I brought out a key to unlock the pad lock I placed there to keep out unwanted pest. The house was relatively small, only big enough for one person and only had three rooms. A small bed room, a small living room, and a small bathroom. This place was my base. My home sweet home. I shook off my bag and left it in it's place by the door and hung my jacket on the spike I put on the wall for that purpose. The wanted poster was fished out of my pocket and placed on the bookshelf I made to keep my valueables. One it were a few books, including a ratty old paperback of William Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet that was falling apart from over use, a faded orane lion doll, and an old family photo. "Hey Kon." I said solemly as I stared at the picture. In it was a man with his wife and three children. The man ws tall with spiky black hair with goatee and a kind smile. He was standing next to a womam with wavey orange hair a shade lighter than mine. She seemed to be laughing at her husband while staring fondly at the two twin girls standing in front of her. One stood there with a big happy smile, holding a stuffed lion doll and the other had her arms crossed over her chest in the middle of an eye roll. The last kid was a younger version of me sitting on a rock next to the girls with one hand on my little sister Karin's head and the other resting on my knees. The picture of my once happy family filled me with sadness and then intense rage at the one who had ripped it all away. Soskue Aizen. One day I would find him and make him pay for what he did.

**There it is! The first chapter to my fanficition. Not too shaby if I do say so myself. **

**Alot of hard work went into this and I hope you appreciate and enjoy my effort so enjoy. I'll try to upload the second chapter as fast as I can.**

***I didn't use any money conversions so I just used american currency.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The second chapter of Panda hero. It took awhile to get some things planned out, but here it is. **

**Chapter 2**

_We were getting ready for dinner like always. Yuzu was it the kitchen helping Mom prepare dinner while Karin, Dad, and I were sitting in the living room talking and enjoying each others company. Then without any warning the front door burst open and dozens of soldiers carrying guns, wearing all white and strange mask rushed in and surrounded us. They forced Mom and Yuzu into the living room with the rest of us and ordered us to get on our knees. We all did so. Mom was on one side with her arms wrapped around Karin and Yuzu to protect the two girls. Karin looked worried under her tough demeanor while Yuzu already had small tears welling up in the corners of her eyes._

_I was on the opposite side with Dad, who was glaring viciously at the soldiers that invaded his home while I was just sitting there stupefied. I was snapped out of my shock when a tall mask less man appeared in the doorway of our living room. All the soldiers immediately stood at attention for him so I assumed that he must be their boss or leader. He was wearing an all white business suit with a katana strapped to his side. His dark brown hair was swept back with a single strand resting between piercing dark eyes._

_There was this air of importance about him that screamed power and wealth. My father was pushed forward so that he was kneeling in front of this man. What could someone like him want with our dad? Then the mysterious man started to speak with him, a small smile that didn't reach his eyes playing on his lips. I didn't know what was being said but judging by the look on my Dad's face it wasn't good. He says something back and the man frowns. A near by soldier comes up and hits him on the side of his head with the butt of his gun. I jerked with the need to go over and help him but something kept me rooted to the spot I was in._

_Dad just smiles defiantly and shakes his head no. Before I even had time to even blink the man drew his sword and with one quick slash, slit his throat. Blood sprayed from the wound, a few drops landing on my cheek as my Dad fell to the floor barely alive right before my eyes. His cloudy eyes gazed out at me before closing. Forever. The man without any sign of remorse just simply cleaned the blood of his blade with a white handkerchief and resheathed it. Mom and the girls were crying now._

_The sound broke my heart because I couldn't do anything to stop it. I glared daggers at the mans turned back wishing for him to drop dead in any way imaginable. But my efforts were in vain. He looked back, his gaze panning over my Mom, my sisters, and finally me. His superior smile infuriated me to no end and there was nothing that I would rather do at this moment than to wipe that smug look off his face. He turns, nods to a guard , then leaves. When he was out of the room the guards swarm us with their guns held at the ready. They take aim and I watch as they shot down my mother and my sisters in cold blood. As I watch their lifeless bodies fall, something broke within me as the sound of a bullet traveled through the air. _

I awoke with a start. My heart hammering in my chest and sweat pouring down my face. I focus on slowing down my labored breathing before doing anything else. _That dream again. _When my breathing goes back to normal I run a hand through my sweaty hair and force myself out of my bed to go to the bathroom. I turn on the sink so I could wash the sleep from my face. The pipes gurgle for a bit and a small stream of water trickles out. That was better than nothing. Sometimes the water didn't even flow. I splash my face with a few hand fulls then look up into the small cracked mirror above the sink.

My eyes were bloodshot and I looked even more tired than the day before. **'Had the dream again didn't ya.' **I gripped the edge of the sink. 'I'm not in the mood right now.' There was a small snickering in the back of my head before Shiro went quiet. With a small sigh I make my way back to the bedroom to get dressed. There wasn't much to pick from but as long as it was clean I would wear it. I put on a pair of long brown cargo pants and a black undershirt. Upon putting on the undershirt I notice the tattoo on my left in large dark pink letters along the entire length of my arm were the words panda hero. A permanent reminder to never ever get drunk around Rukia.

After a quick breakfast consisting of a granola bar and water I put on my boots and jacket, grab my bag and Zangetsu, and leave. Hopefully someone will come with a mission for me. "Ichigo!" Just as I was finished locking my door a blurry green green ball launched itself at my legs. "Woah!" I fell over as my legs were knocked from under me. "Ichigo!" Clinging to my legs was a little girl with short green hair in a green cloak giving me a big smile that showed off her missing bottom teeth. "Hello Nel." The girl giggles and moves up to give me a hug. "Lets play Ichigo!" I stand with Nel in my arm and give her a small smile. "Not today Nel. I have work to do." "Aw! You're always busy." she pouted. Nel was like a little sister to me so I hated to disapoint her. "Sorry Nel. How about this, the next time I'm free I'll come see you."

She smiles and hugs me around my neck. "Alright then. You better or else I'll get Pesche and Dondochakka on you." I laughed and hugged her back. "Speaking of which where are Pesche and Dondochakka?" As if on que they both run up looking around frantically. Both Pesche and Dondochakka are Nel's big brothers and all three couldn't look more different. Pesche was tall and skinny with blond hair while Dondochakka was short and fat with brown hair. They both saw Nel in my arms and ran over. "Nel why did you run away without us!?" cried Dondochakka. He was crying up a storm as he launched himself at me. I easily sidestepped away from him so that he landed in the dirt next to me.

"Cause I wanted to see Ichigo!" Nel declared raising her tiny fist. Pesche sighed. "Next time wait for us. We don't want you to get lost like last time." Pesche was much calmer about the situation but he still looked worried. I set Nel down and she ran over to the still crying Dondochakka. "Bye guys. I have to go to the tower to look for some more clients." "Can we come with you?" asked Nel. I was about to say no but by the look on her face she wasn't going to take no for an answer. So that's how they ended up accompanying me to the tower and how I ended up listening to the most annoying song in the world. Nel was leading the way with the rest of us following behind and while leading out in front Nel decided that she would sing for us. "Pa-pa-pa-la! Pa-pa-pa-la-pah! Smoking with steam, there's riot in those eyes. Pa-pa-pa-la! Pa-pa-pa-la-pah! Now up to bat it's our pinch hitter!"*

When I finally couldn't take it anymore, I cut in. "Excuse me Nel, what in the world are you singing?" "Your theme song." she replied. "I don't have a theme song." "Yes you do. Rukia taught it to me." My eye twitched in annoyance. _It had to be Rukia. _**'It's kinda catchy, aint it king?' **_When this is over I'm killing Rukia. _We part ways when we get to the edge of the district. I walk up to the tower to wait out for some promising jobs or to possibly waste some time. As I started up the ladder I noticed a white envalope on the ground. _What have we here? _I pick it up and look it over. It was thin and sealed shut. It wasn't dirty so whoever delivered it was here a few minutes ago. **'Hey king, check out the** **top right corner.' **My eyes pan over to where Shiro mentioned and all the blood rushed from my face.

There as plain as day in black ink were the letters LN. Just the sight of those two letters brought up painful memories. **'What do ya think's inside?' **I ground my teeth togther and ripped the envalope to shreads without even bothering to check what was inside. **'What if that was something important?' **_'Who cares! Those bastards can all go fuck themselves.' _I make my way up to the towers platform seathing with rage. At the top I turn on the radio and have a seat under the bunny girl. _What could they want with me? _One thing was certain though. This was going to be a long wait.

(Time skip)

I decided to call it a day after two jobs. The first job was a repair job. An older couple needed some help with their pipes so they sent out one of their grand kids to come find me. The second one needed some help with a crooked loan shark and I was happy to say that he would not be bothering them ,or anyone for that mater ever again. All and all I raked in two hundred dollars and a chocolate bar(I love chocolate with a passion and very scarce since it was hard to come by). Not too bad a haul. The sun was going down when I called it quits so I decided to go have some fun. There was this hill that looked out over an empty scrap field that I knew of that was a relatively short walk from here. I would sometimes go there to hit rocks and other things into the scrap heap to see how strong and far my hits go.

When I touched down on the ground I began my leisurely walk to the hill. It was pretty quiet along the way. That was the first thing that tipped me off. Usually there was the small sounds of scurrying animals and piles of trash shifting. But it was eerily quiet. Like something had scared away all the noise. The small hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up as a cold chill came over me. Ever since what happened a year ago, I learned to trust my instincts and how to avoid most dangers. That was when I heard the footsteps behind me.

I stop and turn to face whoever this was slowly and got the biggest surprise of my life. * For starters he was very pale. Deathly pale. Like he has never seen the sun pale. He had on all white. From the jacket that dipped into a small v that slightly exposed his neck and where his collar bones met. It also had long coat tails. To the hakama tied closed with a black sash that held a katana to his side. And there was also this bone like half helmet thing with a horn on it over his shoulder length black hair. "You are the one they call the panda hero." the pale one stated. A small tic mark appeared on my forehead. "Aparently so." I retort angrily. "Hm. How…appropriate." Another tic mark appeared on my forehead. Like he was one to talk with those teal lines coming down from his eyes! "Who are you and what do you want?" I asked angrily. This guy was starting to tick me off. "You didn't read the letter that was sent you." It was a statement not a question.

I think back to when I first got to the tower. "No." The pale guy stares at me silently before speaking again. "Then I'll have to start from the beginning. I am Ulquiorra Schiffer. I have come from the Las Noches company to speak with you on behalf of the CEO Soskue Aizen," Soskue Aizen. The name sent a serge of rage through my body as well as a flood of blood stained memories. "Let me stop you right there. I don't want anything to do with you or your company." I turn my back on him. "Aizen-sama has requested for your services. If you refuse then you leave me no choice but to take you back with me."

"Is that a threat?" He doesn't answer, those green eyes staring out at me conveying no emotion. I continue on my way away from the pale stranger when I find said stranger stanging just an arms length away from me. "You leave me no choice then." He reaches out and grabs the front of my jacket and pulls me close. I grab his arm and attempt to pry myself lose from his iron grip, but he was too strong. **'King, let me help ya. Just let me take control.' **_'No!' _I was determined to get away from this creep using my own means. _'The last time I let you take control innocent people got hurt.' _

"The more you struggle, the harder you make things for yourself." With the position I was in I couldn't use Zangetsu or fight the way I wanted to so I did the next best thing. After much more struggling I managed to reach into one of the pockets inside of my jacket and pulled out one of my new smoke grenades. I pushed in the pin and let it drop between us. Before it went off I managed to pull up my gass mask to keep frome breathing in the fumes(I learned the hard way to do that whenever I used one.) Ulquiorra looked slightly surprised at my actions just as the grenade went off.

It went off with a loud hiss that sent plumes of grayish white smoke into the air. His grip loosened up just enough for me to break free and run twords safety. For a couple of steps I thought that I might make it when a sword came through the smoke towards my head. I ducked down on one knee and managed to pull out Zangetsu just as another strike came down. They clashed and the sound of metal scraping against metal could be heard.

We clashed weapons a second and a third time before I reached the edge of the thinning smoke cloud to make my escape. I managed to make it down a near by slope and dissapear behind a pile of scraps to keep from being caught. **'Nice job king. I probably would have used some other strategy…but yours was good too,' **_'Quiet!' _I sneak a peak back at where I just escaped from to see Ulquiorra resheathing his sword. He simply looks around then just disappears into thin air. _What was that all about? _**'You sure do attract some strange people king.' **I scoul and start to make my way through the scrap yard._'Tell me something I don't know.'_

**And there you have it. This chapter was pretty long do to all the things I wanted to put into it. I had to keep stopping to add and take things away but I'm really happy with how it came out. Please coment to tell me what you think.**

***These are lyrics from the English version of Panda Hero. If you haven't checked out the video by now I suggest that you look it up soon. **

****I just wanted to explain some things about the espada characters. They have on the same outfits and powers like in bleach, save for the cero and the fact that their soul eating vasto lords(Whatever they are. I get confused about what they are). This is all due to something I will explain in the later chapters. **


	3. Chapter 3

**First off, I would like to thank Narutopokefan for being my first reviewer. And to all my other readers, please leave a review. I need your feedback to help improve my stories for you guys. If I don't get any I wont know what to change or fix. Now on with the next chapter.**

**Chapter 3**

Ulquiorra Schiffer stood before his master Soskue Aizen in a private meeting room that only members of his elite troop of body guards, the Espada, could enter(think of it like the meeting room in the original series). He stood with his back to the other nine, keeping his eyes on his boss at the end of the table. Soskue Aizen sat there eyes closed, arms crossed as he digested the information that his fourth guard had given him. Even sitting in a harmless pose like that you could still feel the annoyance and power dripping off of him in waves. It was enough to make the normally stoic Espada nervous.

"So you mean to tell me that he outright refused to come." Aizen asked in a serious tone of voice. A tone that had no tolerance for excuses and no room for arguments. "Yes Aizen-sama. He seemed angry when I mentioned your name." With a small exhale of breath, Aizen leaned forward and placed his arms on the long white table, training his sharp eyes on the pale man. "Is that so." He closes his eyes, appearing to be lost in thought before opening them again. "Show me what happened." Ulquiora nodded slightly and turned to the table, switching open a small panel. Out of the panel comes a small board with a couple of buttons an a dial on one side and cord one the other.

*The black cord, about three fingers wide, extended from the board as Ulquiora grabbed the end of it. At the end he grabbed there were three metal prongs at least an inch long. He took that end of the cord and stuck it into his right eye. He then pressed a button on the panel board and the center of the table lit up to project a 3D holographic picture of the back of some person in a dusty dark green jacket. Pressing a few more buttons on the board, Ulquiorra began to play the past events from his encounter with the Panda Hero straight from his memories.

No sound of the memory could be heard. You could only see the visual experience. He played the whole memory from beginning to end. From the time they were talking to the part where he got away using the smoke grenade. Aizen watched the memory intently, conveying no outright emotion. When the memory ended he was quiet for a long time before speaking again. "Play it back." he ordered. Ulquiorra did so. "Stop." He paused the projection. The frozen image catching the teen mid stride to when he had turned his back on Ulquiorra. He was looking over his shoulder one arm holding up his bag. Hood down to reveal a shock of spiky orange hair. His face wearing a bored expression, the dark spots making chocolate brown eyes stand out against pale skin. Aizen stared at the image for a long time before finally allowing a small smile to grace his lips. "Hmm…I've finally found you."

With a large scowl plastered across my face, I begin to make my way through the scrap yard. I wasn't in the mood to practice anymore and I really didn't want to go home with all this leftover energy. The events from before kept replaying in my mind getting me more riled up with each passing. Ulquiorra. Just the thought of that pale bastard set me on edge. _'What does Soskue Aizen want with me?' _**'Maybe he wants ya to work for 'im.' **I scoff at the ridiculous thought. Me. Work for the fucker who ruined my life. When hell freezes over and when Rukia admits that she sucks at drawing I'll probably consider it.

As I make my way through the giant mounds of rusted parts I catch some movement in the corner of my eye. This time I was ready. I whirl around with Zangetsu drawn, ready to beat the daylight out of whoever dared to sneak up on me while I was in a bad mood. My swing faltered when I saw bright red hair tied back in a high spiky ponytail and black tribal tattoos. Behind me stood Renji, one of my idiotic friends. He had a surprised look on his face, his hands held up palms outward to show that he meant no harm. "Renji, why are you sneaking up on me!?" "Take it easy Ichigo. I saw you sneaking around out here so I decided to come see what was up." Renji stood there arms crossed over his broad chest, a smug smile on his face.

I put Zangetsu back in my bag and scowl. "Nothing." I say curtly. He laughs and throws a muscled arm around my shoulder. "There has to be something wrong. You wouldn't be this mad for nothing. How about this we can go to Urahara's place and you can tell me over a drink or two." "You know I don't drink" He gives me an exasperated sigh." Then I'll drink and you talk." Before I could even give him a proper answer he drags me off in the direction of Urahara's.

(Time Skip)

After about ten minutes of senseless wandering, we get to the shop. Already there was Rukia drawing in her new Chappy the bunny sketchbook. Standing next to her leaning against a wooden support beam was Chad. "Hey!" Yelled Renji. Both Rukia and Chad looked over. I waved back at Rukia and returned the nod Chad gave me. Renji walks inside of the shop and comes back carrying a six pack of beer. "Let's settle down and crack open a couple cold ones! Ichigo has a story to tell." He tosses a bottle to Chad, who accepts it silently and tosses one to Rukia who lets out a loud whoop.

'**Are you really going to tell them the whole story, king?' **I ignore Shiro and let out a sigh. They wanted a story and they weren't going to take no for an answer. So I retold the past events of my run in with the Las Noches member. After by the time I finished my story the others had finished two cases of beer and were finishing a third. I knew my friends well enough to know that they were sufficiently buzzed enough to start spouting nonsense and carry out dumb ideas that I would somehow be dragged into. Rukia was giggling and running her hands through my hair. Renji's face hand a slight flushed look to it and he was staring out at something in the distance. Chad looked more or less the same as always.

"Hey Ichigo, do you think you can help us with a job?" Rukia asked slyly. That was my sign to leave. Once Rukia got an idea there was no stopping her. "Rukia," I stated. "You're drunk." "Common Panda-chan." Teased Renji. "You scared or something?" I scowled at him. "No, I just don't want to be caught up in one of your stupid adventures." He smirks. "Ok then. You can go home if your scared." "I never said I was scared." I growled. "Whatever you say." That was the last straw. I stood up, hands balled into fist at my sides. "Fine! I'll come if you want me to so bad!" Rukia smiles and stands to grab my arm. She drags me off in some random direction with Renji and Chad trailing behind. "Thanks Ichigo! You won't regret this!" Somehow I got the feeling that this will be the biggest mistake I would ever make.

In his office, towering high over Hueco Mundo, Soske Aizen sat at his desk staring at the image of a certain orange haired teen on his computer monitor. The barest hint of a smile could be seen on his face. "Hey Aizen-sama." Aizen looks up to see his right had man Gin Ichimaru standing at the front of his desk with his usual smile on his face. "Gin." he says absently as he continued to stare at the monitor. **Gin walks around the desk, his long grey bushy fox tail swinging behind him as he looked at the image over Aizen's shoulder. His smile grew wider as he observed the person on said moniter.

"Who's the cutie?" Aizen sighs and leans back. "As he's called in Karakura town, the Panda Hero. But to me, he is Ichigo." Gin laughs. "Oooh! A strawberry panda!" Aizen is silent for a while before speaking again. "Have the others been informed?" "Tosen is telling them as we speak." "Good. It is of the up most importance that he is found and brought to me as soon as possible." "If you don't mind me asking, what's so special about this boy?" Gin's smile faltered and his ears flattened against his head as Aizen turned to him with a cold smile. "He may hold the key to something that I've been searching for."

Elsewhere in Karakura town Ichigo sneezes. "Quiet Ichigo!" Rukia snaps angrily. "Are you trying to blow our cover!?" Ichigo just glared at her as he wiped his nose with his jacket sleeve. _Rukia you shall pay dearly for this! _**'Your fault for falling for their trick.' **It was night and Rukia and company decided to drag me through the town all the way to the outskirts of the inner city of Hueco Mundo. We were standing outside of a warehouse yard surrounded by a tall fence topped with barbed wire. "Rukia, how the hell are we going to get in there?" She shushes me and turns to Chad. 'Just shut up and watch." Chad crouches and puts his hands together, appearing to give her a leg up. Rukia puts one foot in the space his hands made and puts her hands on his shoulders.

She nods and he stands, throwing his arms up and launching her over the fence clear of the barbed wire. I knew Chad was strong but that was ridiculous. Rukia does a small back flip and lands on her feet silently. "Lets go." We follow her down the fence till we get to a part of the fence that could swing open to let the rest of us in. It was locked closed with a magnetized bar that could only be accessed by a switch on the other side of the fence. Rukia heads to the small shack near the gate and ducks inside. With as small creak the ancient gate slides open and we walk through. "Why are we here again?" I asked. Renji rolls his eyes at me. "We're here to pick something up." "And what does that have to do with me?" "We need you to be our lookout while we go get it."

I stare at him dumbly as we followed silently behind Rukia who was leading us through the maze of giant warehouses. _Why, oh why did I agree to do this? Why did I give in? _She stops us when we get to a warehouse numbered 23. "Ok, here's the plan. Chad, Renji you come with me. Ichigo you stay out here and keep a lookout for any guards that might be on patrol. If you seen any coming our way warn us by flashing this three times." She hands me a small flashlight. "Any questions?" "There are guards here!?" I asked incuriously. "None? Then lets move out."

Rukia, Renji, and Chad run along the unlit part of the warehouse sticking to the shadows to keep from being seen. I stare after them then move in the opposite direction to find a better way to look into the building. After running around to the other side of the building I found a fire escape that I could climb up to get an overhead view of everything . Through the grimy window I could see stacks of boxes piled high around the room and sitting in the middle of the room typing away on a giant way to complex looking computer was Rukia. Chad and Renji were standing on either side of her.

Renji looks up and spots me watching through the window. He waves and turns to say something to Rukia. She waves him off and pulls something from the computer and slips it into her bag. She stands and waves at me to come down, her and the other two running to the exit. I run down the stairs to meet up with them when I have to suddenly stop. There was a shadow coming towards me and at the rate it was going I was going to be seen. So I jumped the rest of the way down off the side of the fire escape. My feet crunch loudly on a patch of gravel and I wince. I hope whoever it was didn't hear that.

With barely a sound, I start off In the direction of the fence. It wasn't even two minutes before Shiro spoke up. **'King!' **There was a tight feeling in my stomach and I stop, hand on Zangetsu ready to pull out and defend myself. **'Feel that king?' **I swallow, feeling the lump in my throat. _'Yeah…' _**'There's something out there.' **This heavy foreboding feeling reminded me of that time with Ulquiorra. Everything was quiet and all was still as if something was sucking away all the noise. Something deadly. Something that was…hunting me. I stepped back into a promising circle of light coming from a nearby warehouse.

There was something lurking in the shadows after me. "Hey Ichigo!" I hear Rukia call from behind me. I tensed as I heard her footsteps and the others behind me. She put her hand on my shoulder and tried to pull me away. Ichigo?" she said much quieter. "There's something here." I say quietly. Rukia looks in the direction I was staring a little worried. "There's nothing there." Renji stated a little uncertain. The knot in my stomach tightened uncomfortably as I heard a low menacing laugh. I saw Rukia stiffen, Chad take up a fighting stance, and Renji put a hand on the hilt of his katana. My hand tightened on Zangetsu as I saw the flash of cold narrow eyes. At the edge of the circle of light a black boot came into view and soon the bottom of a white hakama tied closed with a black belt. A broad well muscled chest covered in an open white jacket could be seen next.

The sight of wild electric blue hair and feral grin came next and I was instantly put on edge. The crazy look in this guys eyes and the flashy murderous smile would send anyone running. I know I wanted to run. **'Hey king, look.' **He was talking about the bone like mask on his face. It looked like the lower right jaw bone of some sort of animal. _He must be from Las Noches. _"Guys get ready to run." I whispered. "Don't bother." he laughs. He takes a step forward and everyone tenses. I notice him looking me over. "You're the one from Ulquiorra's memory. The Panda Hero." He laughs again. "This is too rich! Who would've thought that right after we get sent to look for ya you end up right here ready for me to bring ya back!" _'We? So there's more than one of these bastards after me!' _**'Apparently so.' **

**And…done! The latest chapter for Panda Hero. **

***I wanted the story to be a little more syfy than spiritual and supernatural than in Bleach. I got the idea for this part from when he took his eye out and crushed it in the original story.**

****Yes I made Gin a hybrid. He was made a hybrid not born one. Just like all the Espada. I made them hybrids too. If you can guess what animal each Espada is I will give you a special surprise. Most are obvious few aren't, so good luck. Leave your answer in the comments if you wish to participate.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back everybody! Here's the next chapter of Panda hero ready for you to enjoy. I hope to make this chapter longer since it sets some things in the plot going. Please leave comments and check out my page and leave your vote for a poll that I set up for a new one shot idea. Also my guessing game for what hybrids the espada are is still going if you wish to try.**

**Chapter 4**

With my left hand on Zangetsu, I eye my opponent warily. I note the sword at his side with a grim expression. He catches me staring and gives me a smug grin. "Like what you see?" I scowl and tighten my grip on my bat. "Guys get ready to run. We cant take this guy on by ourselves." I whispered. We all jump when we hear a deep sinister laugh. "Go ahead, let them run. I'm only interested in the panda." The hand on my shoulder tightened it's grip. "Ichigo, we can't leave you alone here. Do you know who that is!? He's one of Soske Aizen's body guards! The Espada! He'll kill you or worse!" cried Rukia. "I'll be fine. Just go, I'll meet up with you later."

Rukia frowned and let her hand slip from my shoulder. She turned and signaled to the others. "Let's go." Renji and Chad both gave me strange looks before running after her, leaving me alone with the blue haired maniac. He gives me a wide sadistic grin that left my skin crawling in disgust more than fear. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. "Now that I take another look," In an instant he disappeared from the edge of the circle, a few feet away to directly in front of me. "You're pretty cute Panda." My eyes widened in surprise as I took a few steps back to put some distance between us.

"The name's Ichigo! Not Panda!" I say angrily. "Well _Ichigo_," I bristled at the way he said my name. "I'm Grimmjow and I'm here to take you back to see Aizen." I drew Zangetsu and pointed at him threateningly. "You can try." Grimmjow watched me carefully, the excitement clear in his eyes as he looked from my bat to me. _'I need to get past this guy and get back to the others fast before he can over power me.' _**'No shit Sherlock. But answer me this, how are you going to do that?' **_'I…don't know.' __**'**_**You**__**better think fast cause here he comes.' **I break out of my thoughts fast enough to see him rush right at me way faster than I thought possible. The predator-like look in his eye froze me for a couple of seconds, but a shout from Shiro woke me out of my stupor.

With both hands, I brought Zangetsu down hard in a blow that was sure to send his head crashing to the ground. But at the last moment he lifts his right forearm to fend off my attack. The strong impact had my arms going limp fast. _What the hell is this guy made of!? Metal!? _He swings his arm and I was pushed back, my boots digging into the dirt for purchase. With the feeling in my arms returning so did the feeling that this guy wasn't normal. "That barely itched." he laughed, glowing cobalt blue eyes trained in my direction.** 'You cant treat this guy like all those other thugs you've fought before.' **_'I know!' _I grumbled inwardly. **'Then let me take over! I'll wipe the floor with him!' **_'No! Quit asking!' _**'Fine don't come crying to me when he beats your ass then hauls you off to Las Noches!' **

With a small grumble I stand upright, switching Zangetsu to my right hand as I went. "You're switching hands? Why bother?" For an answer charge in and swung for all I was worth. He parries the first few swings with his fore arms like before but a swift kick to his stomach had him hunched over. I brought the bat down hard like before hoping to crack his head into the pavement when suddenly, he wasn't there anymore. The bat cracks into the ground right where his head would've been leaving a small dent and a cloud of dirt. I look at the ground stupidly before a loud groan brought me back to my senses. Kneeling down on one knee a few feet away was Grimmjow.

He still had that cocky savage smile as he coolly ran a hand through his hair. "Seriously, why bother switching hands?" I went from stupefied, to shocked, to angry in one instant. "My right hand is much stronger and faster." I lifted Zangetsu and rested it on my shoulder. "Why don't you draw your own weapon and face me." He stood up slowly, his arms crossed as he considered the idea. "Nah! I don't think I will. It's not worth it." His statement made me even angrier. "What!? Too good to use your weapon on someone like me!?" I challenged angrily. I soon regret asking that question when I saw the dangerous gleam in his eye.

"Fine Panda. I'll draw my sword." He drew his sword, the silver blade gleaming dimly in the yellow light. I kept my eyes on him to keep track of every move he might make so I could attack or defend myself when the time came. But again, he was there and then he was gone with nothing to show where or how he moved. Despite my instincts screaming at me to run I stayed right where I was, my body tense with fear and expectance. _Where is he!? Which way is he coming from!? _There was the faint sound of footsteps to my left and I turn to see a blur of white and blue with the faint streak of silver. **'King!" **At the sound of Shiro's voice everything went black for a moment.

And when I opened my eyes I was sitting down. At my feet there was a deep groove cut into the ground. I followed it and nearly had a heart attack at what I saw. At the end of that groove there was a huge chunk of metal missing from the warehouse across from me. Jagged shard of twisted rusting metal were poking out in all directions. Scraps of what was left laid on the ground in bent shards. _What could've done something like this? _**'King! Are you ok!?' **Asked a slightly frantic sounding Shiro. _'I'm fine.' _I assured him. _'But what the hell happened?' _**'Err…well…' **he started. Then it dawned on me. _'You didn't.' _**'But-' **_'Why did you take over without my permission!?' _**'I had to! You were going to die if I didn't!'**

I sigh and stand back up slowly, my eyes scanning for any more movement. _Where's Grimmjow? _I got my answer soon after. Standing a ways down from me was the blue haired Espada with his back turned to me. Only when I shift my footing to get into a fighting stance does he turn to look at me. Whatever Shiro did must have been super effective cause Grimmjow wasn't smiling anymore. There was a large cut on his chest that went from his right shoulder down to his left hip that was steadily seeping a large amount of blood. _'Wow Shiro, what did you do?' _I asked a surprised look plastered across my face.**'I made him cut himself with his own sword.' **_'Is that all?'_Grimmjow notices the look on my face, his eyes growing darker. "That…was…" When the psychotic grin broke out on his face followed by this heavy hostile atmosphere. I shivered in fear. Never had I felt something this terrifying before.

"That's more like it!" he shouted excitedly." He could now see why Aizen wanted the brat. That overwhelming dark power he used just then. He couldn't get the feel or the sight of those merciless black eyes out of his head. "Enough playing around." He holds up his sword, still covered in his own blood. "I wanna take you on for real now." I take my stance slightly unsure of what to do now. Grimmjows bloodlust was almost overwhelming and I doubght if I can take him on now. **'King let me take over again.' **_'No I can handle this.' _There was a small 'humph' in the back of my head but Shiro stayed quiet.

I reached around in my pockets for something useful to either fight or distract him with and come up with some little black orbs I knew hat 'n' clogs called pepper bombs and a coil of metal wire. There's the possibility of me using the pepper bombs but what about this wire? I didn't have much time to think it over cause right then Grimmjow was beginning to attack. He swings at my head and I duck to keep from being decapitated. But just as I dropped down the angle of his sword changed into a downward slash. The blow cut through my jacket grazing my shoulder and knocking me back. As I fell back I ended up dropping the small handfull of pepper bombs. They go off in a cloud of thick black smoke.

Grimmjow wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of pepper since his sense of smell was so sensitive. He looked around slowly, not able to make out any shapes in the dense cloud. "Nice try kid but I can still hear ya!" But not any sounds that could lead him to Ichigo could be heard. He growld deep in his throat, his frustration starting to build. "I'm getting real tired of your shit kid! Instead of knocking you out how about I beat you half to death then drag you back to Aizen!" The sound of laughter caused his ears to prick up. It sound close. Real close. As he took one last look around he noticed some shapes through the thinning smoke.

As he started towards the shapes a thin line of red appeared on his kneck as he took his first step forward. He jumps back, a hand on his kneck only to have more small cuts appear on his arms, face, chest, and legs. "What the hell!" When the last of the smoke cleared Grimmjow's eyes widened in surprise and anger. Surrounding him on all sides were thin nearly translucent wires. If he moved to close or tried to escape they would dig into his skin leaving deep cuts. "**You little shit**!" he roared angrily, his eyes burning with anger trying to locate the one who did this to him.

His head snapped up abruptly as he zeroed in on the sound of laughter. Sitting on the fire escape of the destroyed warehouse was Ichigo a large grin on his face, his eyes shrouded in shadow. Grimmjow glared daggers at the smirking teen, daring him to come closer so he could tear into him. Wires or no wires. **"Having fun now Grimmjow?" **Grimmjow refused to speak. He just continued to glare. This was just like earlier when he attacked Ichigo. This dark heavy feeling. The orange haired teen just laughed at his silence as he slowly dropped down to the ground with hardly a sound. He approached the Espada member and slowly circled him while Grimmjow kept his eyes trained on him like some sort of caged animal that was ready to strike. After he completed one circle he turned and walked in the same direction his friends ran off in. "Just wait till I get my hands on you." he threatened. "I'll tear you to pieces." The teen simply stopped. Bat on his shoulder free hand in his pocket. With a small turn of his head pure gold surrounded by endless black stared into smoldering blue before breaking away with a large grin followed by senseless maddened laughter. **"We'll see."**

'_Shiro!' _**'Yes king.' **_'Switch me back now before we get to the others.' _Shiro stopped running. **'Why should I? It's been too long since I've been in control. Just let me enjoy it for awhile.' **_'Shiro, just do it or you'll never be out again.' _He grumbled something about me being mean and switched me back. If you were to see this exchange going on you would see all the black fade from his eyes and the gold iris's darken until they were their normal choclate brown. His eyes closed and his shoulders slumped forward as he caught his breath. Ichigo shook his head slightly and continued forward towards the gate.

As I came closer I could see Chad, Renji, and Rukia waiting for me on the other side. When Renji saw me running towards the gate he ran up, the others following suit as I slipped through the open part of the fence. "What the hell Ichi!? We thought you were dead!" Renji exclaimed as I met up with them. "Ichigo, what happened? You need to tell me everything that happened." Rukia demanded. She looked genuinely worried about what happened. But there was also some mysterious underlying emotion that I couldn't identify at the moment. I wave off their concerns and try to get them to focus on something else.

"We should leave now." I stress. "I got him caught in a trap but I don't know how long it will hold. So I'm sure it will be in our best intrest to get the hell out of here before that happens." They agree and we hurry off back to Karakura town. While we were running I didn't notice the looks that the others were giving me. That is untill we made a turn at some new ufimilar territory. "Rukia where are we going?" I asked slightly 's unnaturally quiet for awhile before answering. "We're taking this flash drive back to my brother." "Flash drive? Your brother?" I echo back. I stop making everyone else stop to look back at me.

"Are you telling me that I just risked my life for a _flash drive!?_" I stress the word to make them see the stupidity in the reason for me almost dying. "Look Ichigo, we don't have time to sit here and argue with you about this. We'll explain things when we get to base, ok? I also want to hear about what happened with you and that Espada member." _Espada? _"Ok, fine. But we're out miles from Karakura town in the middle of nowhere. So where it this base." Rukia smiles a little and points down. "There." Without knowing it I stopped us at the edge of a clift. I look over the edge and I see a old rickety looking dojo. **'I've seen sturdier looking outhouses in better conditions than that.' '**_I agree.' _I give her a 'yeah right' look. But she simply smirks and begins her decent down the clift. Chad and Renji follow after her, sliding down to the bottom to wait for me.

_I guess I might as well. _I slide down to the bottom and join the others to walk to that crappy looking hut they called their base. We reach the entrance and Rukia slides open the door. The foundation was shaking so much from that one simple motion that I thought the place would cave in. She ushers me inside. I walk in and take a quick look around. With the faint light of the moon I could faintly make out the small room we were in. The walls were an old water damaged yellow, the tatami mats were worn thin, and the wooden floor board were broken and creaked from old age. I give Rukia another look as she strolled past me to the only object in the room.

It was an empty sword rack that was displayed on a crumbling mantle. She strolls up to it and grabs one side of the polished wood. To be honest it was the only new looking thing I saw in there. I gave her a confused look as she pulls on it, the item letting out a loud click. She takes a step back and falls in beside me, her arms crossed over her chest. "So-" A loud creak interrupted me as the floor in front of the mantle slid back to reveal a set of stone steps decending into the darkness underneath the dojo. I stare speechless as Renji went down followed by Chad. "After you." She sings happily. **'How's that foot taste king?' **_'Shut up!' _I think sourly as I walked down the steps. Rukia followed after me, the opening closing behind her plunging us into complete darkness.

A second later a pair of lights come on overhead leading all the way down a chrome hallway. "This way." Rukia steps forward and leads the way, with me looking around like a lost idiot. About five minutes of walking and slowly descending downward we come to a pair silver doors with a keypad on the wall next to it. I watch curiously as Rukia put in some code and looked more than a little surprised when the doors slid opern revealing that this was an elevator. We walk into the surprisingly roomy elevator where Chad, the last person in, pressed the button with an up arrow on it. When the doors slid closed we started our slow ride up.

Now I've never been on an elevator before but this had to be the longest elivator ride I've ever been on and I was guickly getting annoyed. "Why is this taking so long? Please don't tell me that this is the entrance to the base you were talking about." "No this is an alternate route. We only use this way when we need to get to Karakura town." Replied Rukia. "And because the Espada said that they were looking for you. We can't risk running into them now." After what seemed like forever we finally come to a stop and the doors open revealing a square surrounded by pale white walls with blue tile on the floor and tops of the walls. (I couldn't really describe this place right so just picture the seretei. It's just smaller and doesn't have all those tall tower like structures.)

The entie square was bathed in the soft glow of the full moon that was directly overhead. Standing in the center of the square was a man in a midnight blue kimono with a white scarf wrapped around his kneck. He had shoulder length black hair with three white clips in the front. Rukia strode out of the elevator to meet this man, with a serious look on her face. She stopped in front of him giving him a low bow. "Brother." she says. My eyebrow raised slightly in surprise. "That's her brother." I asked surprised. "Yeah." Renji says. "I didn't expect him to be so…" I struggled to find the right words. "I know what you mean. Rukia is such an hot blooded little spitfire and her brothers the complete opposite." I give Renji a sideways glance at the way he just described Rukia. There was something going on there between them. But that mystery is for another time.

While I was processing the realization about that guy who was Rukia's brother I missed everything they were saying. I finally paid enough attention to notice Rukia hand him something. No doubght the flash drive I was nearly killed over. I also notice that Rukia's brother was staring at me. "Brother this is my friend Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo this is my brother Bakuya Kuchiki." "Hi." I say a little uncertain after staring back at him way longer than necessary. With the same stone faced deminor he slightly bows his head to me. "Kurosaki-san." He says simply. **'Woah. Who shoved the pole up your ass?' **Shiro laughed. I resisted the urge to scowl. _Not a very warm welcome. _As Rukia turned with her brother to lead us away, I got the distinct feeling that this guy, Bakuya or whatever, didn't like me very much. But I keep silent and follow after them. Rukia owes me an explination and I wasn't leaving till I got one.

**FINALLY! I'm finished! I stayed up till two a.m. making this. As you can see the plot has thickened. You have seen a glimpse of why Aizen wants Ichigo. And in the next chapter we will briefly talk about the origins of Shiro incase you were wondering. Rukia will also reveal some very interesting things in the next chapter too. I might even bring in Starrk. But this is subject to change. All this and more in the next chapter of-PANDA HERO! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait everybody. I just got a new computer with a new version of Microsoft. It wouldn't update my old files so I had to download a new converter and that took forever. So as a reward for waiting so patiently here's the newest chapter for Panda Hero, now improved with the help of my amazing beta Karin(Not her real name. just what I'm going to call her.). So now hopefully I'll update more and my stories will be more detailed and organized. Anyway, on to the story.**

**Chapter 5**

_It was dark. That was the first thing I noticed. Well…that and the strange sensation of falling and hanging upside down at the same time. It was strange considering that I was lying flat on my back against a cool, hard surface. With a small groan I slowly cracked open bleary, sleep heavy eyes. As soon as they were open I hastily lifted an arm and draped it over my face when I was assaulted by a sudden bright light. 'How can there be light when it was night time. I slowly propped myself up on my free arm and carefully lowered my other to join it as I cracked open my eyes once again. _

_What I saw made my jaw drop in shock. In front of me there was…a sky scraper? I stare at it dumbstruck. 'What?' It didn't bother me that there was a sky scraper in front of me or that is what apparently now daytime. What did bother me was the fact that the sky scraper seemed to be coming out of the sky, which should be impossible considering that the point on the top of it seemed to be pointing down at the clear blue sky. 'Ok Ichigo, calm down. Before you start questioning physics and your sanity let's take a look around and see if there's an explanation for this.'_

_With that in mind, I take another look around to see more upside down skyscrapers. Nothing but skyscrapers as far as the eye can see. All coved in windows that were dark and impossible to look into. So I couldn't tell what was inside. Now I was ready to pull my hair out. Where the hell am I and why the heck are all these skyscrapers upside down!? Letting out a frustrated groan, I catch sight of my reflection in the window of a nearby skyscraper. I saw myself in some casual clothes consisting of a pair of faded blue jeans and a gray t-shirt lying against a large reflective surface that was tilted at an angle._

"_What the…" I murmur aloud, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. I look down and I see that I was sitting on…a window! I look further down and I instantly paled at the sight of the top of a skyscraper and the sky. Scratch that. I was sitting on a window upside down on the side of a sky scraper. As soon as I made that realization I felt myself slipping down across the slick surface. It was no use scrambling for purchase, because as soon as I started slipping I fell away from the building and began my hurtle downwards towards the empty streets below. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. Even if I could scream no one would hear me and it would be lost in the rushing wind. Tears streamed out of the corners of my eyes and my arms and legs flailed around uselessly._

'_So this is how I die.' My panicked mind thought listlessly. 'Ending up as a stain on the sidewalk in an empty city in the middle of nowhere.' As the ground grew closer and closer I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my doom. A loud snapping sound then something trapping around my wrist tightly grabs my attention and causes my eyes to open. I look over just as a sudden wave of dizziness and vertigo hit me. And I was suddenly airborne again this time being pulled up by, what I now saw was, a long red ribbon. When I reached the top of the massive building the ribbon went taunt and I was pulled down the rest of the way down onto the hard, flat roof._

_I grimaced and rubbed my shoulder. Even though the fall was just a few feet the landing still hurt. After easing the pain in my shoulder, I took a quick look around. So, I was just saved by a mystery ribbon and now I was sitting near the edge of the roof on the building that I almost fell off of. Oh joy. I took the curious looking ribbon that was wrapped around my wrist in my hands and stared at it. 'Where did it come from? And how the heck did it save me from falling to my death?' It was then that the ribbon tightened around my hands and pulled me away from the edge of the roof with me cursing loudly. The ribbon went slack after a few moments and I stopped, the sound of laughter ringing out behind me._

_With my signature scowl set deep in my face I turned to confront the bastard who thought dragging me along the ground was funny. When I saw who it was my scowl faltered, changing into a confused stare. The person standing there…was me. I mean he looked like me but he wasn't me. For starters his was pale. Very pale. Like entirely colorless. From his spiky white hair to his clothes, which were the same as mine. Pure white making the red ribbon wrapped in his hands stand out drastically. In fact the only things that did have color were his nails, which were painted black, and his eyes. But the thing that was the most different and unnerving about him was his eyes. They were two colors. The irises a brilliant gold set into pitch black sclera, it was such an odd and disturbing color for anyone to have but it seemed to go with him. Odd indeed. _

_I didn't know I was staring until I noticed him leering at me. __**"You gonna put that tongue back in your mouth. Starin's rude ya know." **__I immediately closed my mouth and looked away, my face burning in embarrassment. He laughed, the strange sound making me cringe. __**"'s ok King. I didn't mean ta tease. Your reaction was just priceless." **__I quickly stood and backed away from the creepy look alike, my scowl returning. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" The pale copy lets out a small 'tisk' 'tisk' sound and pulls on the ribbon making me stumble closer till I was standing right in front of him. __**"Th' names Shiro. And the correct answer to the second question is what are you doing here? You normally don't come here." **__"I stare at him dumbfounded. _

"_What do you me I don't come here!? What is this place!? There's nothing but fricken skyscrapers here!" Shiro looks at me surprised, black and gold eyes widening slightly. __**"You mean you don't recognize your inner world?" **__'Inner world?' The confusion must have shown on my face cause Shiro suddenly began to smile. __**"Oh right! I forgot that people don't normally dwell this deep into their subconscious." **__"My subconscious?" __**"Yeah. The place we are now. Your inner world deep within your subconscious." **__He said tapping me twice on the forehead for emphasis. __**"**__Okay…" This was too weird. "If this is my inner world, why are you here?" Shiro cracked a smile, chuckling slightly. __**"I'm here because I'm you." **__I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're me?" I asked suspiciously. __**"Wait, scratch that. I am you. Just a different part of you. The part that you keep hidden away, locked up deep inside yourself. Don't tell me you haven't felt my presence before?" **__Shaking my head no, I shrug my shoulders. "I think I would know if I had some weird albino look-alike inside of my head."_

_At this Shiro gave me a wide Cheshire cat like smile that showed all his teeth. Shivers ran up and down my spine at the sight. It was creepy and I was pretty sure if he kept that up his face would be in danger of getting stuck like that or split in half. __**"Are you sure?" **__I nod stiffly. __**"So you haven't felt that small feeling in the back of your mind when you're angry? When you're sad? In your nightmares?" **__I didn't answer. I didn't have to. Shiro knew the answer just by looking at my expression. __**"I thought so." **__He laughed and cocked his head to the side, eyes looking at something far away as if in deep thought. __**"Don't you have something to do right now?" **__I gave him a confused look. "What are you-" _

_The words died in my throat before I could even think of saying them. "Mom! Dad! Yuzu! Karin! They-" Built up tears stung my eyes, my fist balling up at my sides as sadness quickly gave way to anger. "They…those bastards…they…" I felt a hand land on my shoulder and I looked up to see Shiro with the same wide grin from earlier. __**"See. It's when you're like this, that I'm closer to the surface. When your killing intent comes out." **__He wraps his arm around my shoulder and leads me over to the edge of the roof. __**"Since you're in trouble out in the real world, I'll help you King. Just remember to thank me later." **__And with that I was air borne again, falling backwards head first as Shiro looked down at me waving and smiling. __**"Good luck." **__Was all I heard before the wind began rushing past my ears and everything went black._

[(-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) \(*_*)/]

My eyes flew open and I gasped the sharp intake of breath making my chest hurt. I slowly sat up from my make shift jacket pillow to cradle my face in my hands. 'Calm down Ichigo. It's just a dream. It's just a dream.' With a shaky breath I rest my arms on the cool wood table in front of me to rest my throbbing head. Wait. Wooden table? My house doesn't have a wooden table. I open my eyes and sit up again and this time I took a good look around at my surroundings. I was in a room that was set up to be traditionally Japanese. It had everything I've read about in books. The sliding paper doors, the straw tatami mats, some oil paintings on the walls of birds and landscapes, I was even sitting at a kotatsu*.

Where the heck was I again? It took a while for my sleep deprived mind to remember what happened but it slowly came to me. Rukia, Renji, Chad and I sneaking in to a warehouse. Fighting Grimmjow. Stealing a seemingly worthless, at least to me, flash drive. The secret base in an abandon dojo. Now I remembered. I was in the base that the others showed me. After introducing me to her not so friendly brother and showed me to this room where I apparently fell asleep under the kotatsu. Not that I was complaining. It was nice and warm under the dark blue blanket. I stretch my arms out ready to lay back down on the table when a dull pain shot through my shoulder. '_Huh?' _On my right shoulder, under the strap of my undershirt, there were a few bandages covering a wound I don't remember getting. **'You got cut by Grimmjow the other day, remember?' **"Yeah I remember." I say tiredly, resting my chin on the table top.

I didn't even bother trying to speak to Shiro in my head. There was no one around so I figured it was safe to speak aloud without the fear of someone thinking I'm crazy. **'It was nothing too serious, just a scratch. Rukia came in to bandage it while you were asleep.' **"That was nice of her." I sighed. I yawned and closed my eyes. _'Maybe I can get a little bit of sleep without having anymore nightmares…' _Just before I could even relax my stomach so rudely decides to let its presence be known. It growled loudly making me groan. Just my luck. I'm hungry and I have no food. With a loud angry sigh I fall back onto my makeshift pillow. As my arms hit the floor I felt my hand hit my back pack. I looked at the pack out of the corner of my eye and suddenly I remembered. Chocolate! The chocolate bar I got from that job.

I hastily grabbed the pack and opened it, pushing aside clothes, weapons, papers, and other questionable items in my search. Then, after a minute of searching, I pulled out the treat with a triumphant grunt. **'I've never seen someone get so excited about a piece of candy.' **murmured Shiro. "Shut up. This is why you can't have any." I say distractedly as I unwrapped the offending piece of paper separating me from my only desire. _'This is going to taste so good!' _I think excitedly. **'Hey King, you have some company.' **I scowl at the fact that I was being interrupted during an intimate moment. _'We can continue this later my delicious chocolate.' _I think mournfully. **'You have problems King.' **laughed Shiro. _"Shut up! Just point out the fucker!" _Shiro just laughs some more. **'Over there. The sliding door to the right.' **

My head snaps to the right and I zero in on a small shadow squatting down behind the paper door. I stand, my mouth pressed into a hard line and stalk over to the door. With a quick swipe of my arm I slide the door open to find…nothing. '**Look down King.' **With confusion written all over my face I do so. Squatting down on the floor was a small girl with bright pink hair dressed in a dark purple kimono. She looks up at me surprised and confused. We stare at each other for a moment till she decides to overcome her shyness and runs away down the hall around a corner. She peeks at me from around the corner, ducking back when she notices me staring. "You could've told me it was a kid Shiro. I mean here I was about to go yell at and or beat up a five year old."

Shirosnorts. **'How was I supposed to know it was a kid? You were the one who over reacted and went all scary.'** I sigh and walk back to the kotatsu. _"Sometimes I just can't stand you." _I pick up the chocolate I set down and prepare to eat it when Shiro's voice comes back. **'Guess whose back?' **_"Depending on who you're talking about I may or may not kick your ass when I see you next time." _With Shiro grumbling in my head I turn back to the door to see the same little girl peeking at me from behind the sliding door. Again she ducks away when I look over. Deciding to ignore her in favor of the task at hand, I break off a square and pop it in my mouth. I smile and hum in satisfaction. This was way better than I remembered. Nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing accept an annoying entity named Shiro.

'**Uh…King…' **_"Goddamnit Shiro! One more time and I swear to…" _Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the girl staring at me again. Well…not me. It was more like the chocolate bar I was holding in my hand. **'Looks like someone else here likes chocolate.' **I looked at the candy and back at the girl. She looked she stumbled upon an amazing treasure but had no idea to get to it. It reminded me of Yuzu and the way she would silently beg for stuff with those big puppy dog eyes of hers. I miss her… _'No! Hold on there Ichigo don't dwell on the past. Focus on your future and your goal.' _I hold up the chocolate and break it in half. The girl jumps a little when I look over at her again. She was prepared to duck away but stops when I hold out the candy. "Here. You can have some." I say gently. **'Great King, you're changing from the creepy mean stranger to the creepy pedophile.' **

I ignore Shiro and continue to hold out the treat. "Common I'm not gonna hurt you." At this Shiro snorts. '_Thin ice Shiro. Thin ice.'_ The girl blinks at me and comes out from behind the door. She looks back from the chocolate to me and beams. "Thank you!" She skips over and takes the offering and starts to munch on it happily. I smile and continue to eat my own piece. The girl finishes her piece fairly quickly and begins to stare at me again this time her gaze lingering on my left arm. "You!" She says awe struck. "Hmm?" I say between bites of candy. "You're the Panda Hero!" "Well…yeah…" I hesitate. "I am but-Omph!" All the air rushed out of my lungs as she tackled me head first in the stomach. "Yay! Panda! Panda!" She cheered as she jumped up and down on my stomach.

'**Having fun King?' **_'Hate you…' _She stops jumping and plants her knees firmly on the center of my chest. "What are you doing here Panda? Are you on a mission? Can I help?" she asked excitedly. I coughed to get some air back into my lungs before answering. "No." I gasped. "I'm waiting for someone. And my name is Ichigo Not Panda. Panda Hero is just a nickname. Speaking of names, what's yours?" "I'm Yachiru!" She declares happily. I smile and gently move her down to the floor so I could sit up. "Well Yachiru, can you tell me why you were spying on me earlier?" "I was looking for Ken-chan." She said seriously. "We were on our way to the training grounds when split up. He always gets lost so I have to lead him around to make sure he doesn't."

I laugh and pat her on the head. "It sounds like this Ken-chan has a responsible little helper. I hope you find him." She nods and stands up to make her way out of the room. "I know!" She says happily. "You can help me! Rukia-chan says you're good at helping people!" I hold up my hands to gently refuse but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She grabs my hand and forces me along with her to help find her friend. **'Every time King." **laughs Shiro as I was dragged through the halls to. I internally shrug. _'I might as well help her. What's the worst that could happen?'_

[(-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) \(*_*)/]

An hour later we were finally outside and away from that maze of a house to enter an even bigger maze consisting of gardens and those infuriating stone walls. **'Who designed this hell house!' **grumbled Shiro as we reached yet another dead end. **'I swear there are too many halls that lead to fucking nowhere it's not funny.' **_'I know.' _I agreed. **'Just ditch the kid King! You're not responsible for her!' **_'I'm not ditching her Shiro. I'm just going to drop her off with her friend then I'm going to go find Rukia. I have a few things to ask her.' _**'If we find him.' **I don't say anything as we come to another fork in the pathway but I swear I felt my eye twitch. I look over my shoulder to Yachiru who was riding on my back because she claimed she was tired.

"Which way Yachiru?" "Ummm…" she pondered, a finger pressed to her lips in thought. "That way!" She pointed to the path on the left." I nod and head down the way she pointed. Another dead end. "Yachiru, are you sure you know which way to go." Yachiru giggled and patted me on the head. "Silly Panda. Of course I do. Now go this way." '_Something tells me that it wasn't this Ken-chan who got lost' _**'What was your first clue Sherlock? Us being lost for the last hour and a half or the constantly wrong directions?' **"Yachiru, I'm pretty sure that we're lost." "No we aren't! It's just around the corner." We turn into another dead end. "Yachiru," I sigh. "We are lost. How about we go ask someone where the training grounds are." "Fine!" she grumbled pulling on my hair. **'Hey King, there's someone coming down this way.' **

'_Thank God!' _I walk back the way we came with Yachiru still pulling at my hair and me trying to get her to stop. "Stop it Yachiru! That hurts!" "So that's where the little barbarian went." I look up to see some guy standing in front of me. He was tall and bald and he was wearing a muscle shirt and sweatpants. "Baldy!" The bald guy frowned at the nickname. "The name's not baldy short stack it's-" He was silenced by Yachiru, who decide to jump off my back and kick him in the face.

I laugh a little and hold out my arms to catch the small girl as she jumped back into my arms to scramble onto my back. The man apparently nicknamed baldy glared daggers at her before turning his gaze on me. "So the tiny terror has her claws in you. She must really like you if she's not driving you insane." "Actually we're kind of lost. We've been going around in circles for the past hour looking for someone she calls Ken-chan." The bald man smirks. "So you're lost and looking for Kenpachi-sama. That's what you get for listening to Yachiru's directions. She can't lead anyone anywhere." Yachiru frowns and beats her tiny fist on my head. "Don't lie to Panda, Baldy! We're almost to the training grounds!" "The training grounds are on the other side of the base."

[(-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) \(*_*)/]

Yachiru pouted the whole way to the training grounds, occasionally jumping from me to the newly identified Ikkaku to torture him for a while before coming back to me. "And that's why I'm known as the Panda Hero." I finished. While we were walking I decided to tell him the story of my terrible name after clearing up some confusion about it. "No way!" He laughed. "So she really stuck you with that name and forced you to get that tattoo." "Yeah. Put me off Alcohol forever." "Now you're forever known as the Panda Hero. It was only a matter of time though, what with these marks under your eyes."

I laughed and batted away his hand. "I could've done without the name." We turned down another corner and Ikkaku stopped. "Here we are." We stopped at the entrance of a huge space that held a giant dojo surrounded on all sides by those endless white walls that I have grown so horribly tired of. From where we were I could hear the sounds of men cheering and yelling and the dull, resonate tone of wood hitting together. "What the heck is going on in there?" I asked as a loud scream of pain rang out in the huge space. "Oh, that's just the guys training." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And judging by the sound of it someone is getting their ass kicked." "I can tell."

'**This sounds like my kind of place. Let me go in there and fight, I'll mop the floor with all of them." **I ignored Shiro in favor of listening to Ikkaku. "Looks like we're just in time." Ikkaku walked over to the dojo with me close behind and slid open the door. Just in time for some poor sap to come flying out looking like he's been through hell twice and back, where he landed in a heap on the ground. "I'm tired of all you small fry! When is someone here going to put up a real fight!" A deep, menacing voice roared. Yachiru squealed in delight and jumped down from my shoulders to run inside. "Is it safe for her to be in there." "Yeah. As long as no one messes with her they'll be fine." "Does she have a body guard or something?" "No, she can pretty much take care of herself." _'Wait! What? This I gotta see." _We walk inside to find the place filled with big and burly rough looking men, drinking and some smoking all sitting around a ring that held the biggest most dangerous looking man I have ever seen.

For starters, he was well over six feet tall and that's without including his spiky hair. He had mean looking gold eyes, the right one covered by an eye patch. He was also very muscular, clothed in a pair of baggy faded looking camouflage pants and a black undershirt stretched across a broad chest. All in all he looked threatening, and the fact that he had this dangerously powerful aura around him made me feel tense. And I wasn't even near him. It surprised me that all these people were even in this room with the guy. He looked like he could kill someone just by looking at them. And was that Yachiru swinging from the man's biceps and climbing on his back like he was some sort of overgrown plushy?

"I think I should go. I have to find my way back to my room. I'm pretty sure Rukia would throw a hissy fit if she finds out that I left." "Nah, you're fine. Why don't you stay and hang out for a while. I'm sure she won't mind." _'He has obviously never met Rukia before.' _I reluctantly agreed and followed him through the crowd. As we made our way past the men to find a place to sit we were waved at by a man who didn't look like he belonged in all this chaos. How he looked was one indication. He was smaller and slimmer than all the other men here and while most of the men were either bald(in Ikkaku's case), had buzz cuts, or had their hair ridiculously long and messy his was short and cut into a neat bob. He was also dressed in light blue kimono with a colorful robe that had more shades of green and purple than I could count. Everyone else was dressed more similar to Ikkaku. "Ikkaku! Over here." he called.

We made our way over to him near the far wall. "Where have you been?" He seethed. "How could you leave me alone in this unflattering atmosphere? Don't get me wrong, I support Zaraki-taichou just like everyone else but the last time we did something like this I couldn't get the smell of cheap beer and sweat out of my clothes. And don't get me started on my hair-" "Okay, okay, okay Yumichika. I get it. I'm sorry. I just go caught up with a newcomer." Ikkaku warped an arm around my shoulder and motioned at me with his free hand. "Yumichika, this is Ichigo, or Panda if you prefer." He ignores my glare and motions to the man. "Ichigo, this is Yumichika." "Hello, nice to meet you." I say politely. The raven haired man says nothing; he just looks me up and down, scrutinizing me carefully.

"Hmm, you are very handsome. Though there could be some room for improvement." He pokes at my face just beneath my right eye. "I have something that can get rid of these bags and fade the dark marks." "Thank…you." I say a little unsure. Ikkaku laughs and claps me on the back. "Don't mind him. He's just our resident pretty boy. Aint that right Yumi?" "Don touch the hair!" he says proudly. "It takes effort to look this good and I don't want you ruining it." he says pulling out a small mirror from apparently nowhere to make sure his hair was fine. I laugh at the small display, my laugh turning into a surprised shout then I feel tiny arms wrap around my neck. "Ichigo! Ken-chan wants to meet you and thank you for bringing me back!" "Sure." I say in a choked whisper as I try to loosen her grip on my wind pipe. "Where is he?" "Over there!" she giggles.

I look to where she was pointing and nearly paled. The big dude standing in the center of the room was looking dead at me. He gave me a once over and then smiled. A big menacing smile that instantly read me as fresh meat. "That's your friend Yachiru?" "Yep! That's Ken-chan! Look! He's smiling at you! That means he like's you!" _'Yeah like to eat me and then use my bones to pick his teeth.'_ "Let's go. Ken-chan doesn't like to be kept waiting." With that, she jumps down from my neck and grabs my hand in a surprisingly strong grip. _'Holy crap, she's strong.' _It must have been quite a sight for Yachiru to be dragging someone along to go meet this Ken- chan guy, cause suddenly the room went quiet and I felt all eyes on me in the center of the room with someone you would personify as the devil.

I looked back at Ikkaku and Yumichika sending a silent plea of help. Sadly though, Yumichika was still to engrossed in looking at his reflection and Ikkaku simply shrugged. **'A big help, those two.' **_'Couldn't have said it better myself.' _Yachiru stops and let's go of my hand so she could clamber up onto the giant's shoulders to look down at me. Which was weird considering the fact that I had to crane my head all the way up just to look at, at most, the guys chin. "Ken-chan. This is him. The Panda I told you about!" "Actually, it's just Ichigo." I say in order to make this less awkward than it was. The man just smirks down at me with that piercing eye, trying to overwhelm me with his presence. "Ichigo." he says in a deep gravelly voice. "Kenpachi Zaraki." He holds out his hand and I grab it, trying not to let it show how hard he gripped my hand bother me. His large calloused hand completely covered mine. 'So that's how it's going to be? Fine. I can be a hard ass too.' I steeled my gaze and stood my ground, challenging his presence with my own. **'You finally managed reattached your balls King.'**

He narrows his eyes at me, giving my hand a hard squeeze before letting go. "Rumor has it you're quiet the fighter. Is it true?" I shrugged. "I can hold my own." "Really?" he said slightly amused. Something about the way he said that rubbed me the wrong way. It reminded me of those stuck up gang members who would always talk smack before I took them out. The only difference is that he had the skill and power to back his words up. "You have experience with a sword?" He holds up a wooden sword that managed to go by unnoticed by me. I disregard it and think about my bat Zangetsu. It was like a sword and I could technically use it like a sword. "A little. I fight with one from time to time."

Technically a lie but true at the same time. My answer seemed to be good enough for him cause he motioned for one of the nearby guys to bring over another wooden sword. The nervous looking man hands it to me and scrambles back to his seat to watch from a safe distance. "How about you and I have a quick match? I'm tired of fighting all these weaklings and you look like you have some promise." I look down at the sword in my hand and tested the balance and weight of it by swinging it a few times. "Sounds fine. I've been meaning to blow off some steam while I was here." I rested the fake blade on my shoulder. "That is if you think you can keep up." I taunted. I could literally feel the entire room draw in a breath at my words and everything went still. **'You would think this doesn't happen a lot. Hey King if you listen closely you can hear one guy pissing his pants in the corner.' **joked Shiro. Kenpachi broke out into a huge grin and pointed the tip of his sword at me. "I'm gonna enjoy this." He stated. I smirked at him. "Me too."

***kotatsu-a low lying heated table with a blanket covering it. I've seen a lot of these being used in manga so I thought what the hell. Yumichika's outfit is modeled after a peacock. I thought it fit him. Just thought you would like to know. It also looks like I like to put in fight scenes and cliffhangers in my stories. Dont know why…. **

**Read, review, favorite, follow, whatever! Just remember that every one of those helps me help you by giving me inspiration and the will to write (that and my beta's temper). Hope you enjoy. We will meet again in the next chapter of-PANDA HERO!**


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